Railroad crossing



Dec,

G. W. SMITH RAILROAD CROSSING Filed April 28, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 \NVENTOR C BY M 0 I ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Dec. if), 1924.

UITE

GEORGE W. SMITH, BF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

Application filed April 28, 1924.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad Crossings, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to railroad crossings; and it has for its general object to provide a crossing embodying simple, efficient and durable means adapted to be readily adjusted so that a train can pass through the crossing on either pair of rails without jolting the train and without undue strain and wear on the crossing.

Other objects and practical advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of the crossing constituting the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figures 2 and l are horizontal sections illustrative of two of the joint bodies and their appurtenances.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical section of the structure shown in Figure 4.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

Rails 1 and rails 2 disposed at right angles to the rails 1 are comprised in my novel crossing, and the several rails 1 are separated by intervening spaces at the four corners of the crossing, and the several rails 2 are similarly separated at the four corners of the crossing.

Occupying the intervening spaces referred to at the four corners of the crossing are the joint bodies 3 and 3 of my improvement. Each of the said bodies has its upper side arranged flush with the treads of its respective rails, and each is provided in its four edges with sockets a which snugly secure end extensions of the rail webs and bases, the heads 5 of the rails abutting against the body edges as designated by 5 so that the rails and bodies will be strongly joined of themselves. It will also be noticed by reference to Figure 1 that all of the joint bodies are provided in their upper sides with grooves 1 in parallelism to and closely ad- Serial No. 709,642.

jacent the inner sides of the heads of the rails 1, and are also provided in their upper sides with grooves 2 in parallelism to and closely adjacent the inner sides of the heads of the rails 52. The groove 1 of each joint body comprises sections at opposite sides of a circular space 6, and the same is true of the groove 2 of each joint body.

In the circular space 6 of each joint body is a circular disk 7 arranged flush with the upper side of the body and having in its upper side a groove 8, adapted in one position of the disk to rest in alinement with the groove sections 1, and in the other position of the disk to rest in alinement with the groove sections 2*.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5 each disk 7 is provided at its underside with a reduced portion 9 surrounded by a metallic washer 10, and below the washer 10 is arranged a spur gear 11 keyed or otherwise fixed to the CliSk stem 12, journaled in the joint body and retained in working position by units as 13.

Guided in the joint bodies 3 and directly engaged with the spur gears 11 of the disks 7 in said bodies are rack bars 14, Figures 1-3. The gears 11 of the disks 7 in the joint bodies 3 are intermeshed with spur gears 15, Figures el and 5, and the said spur gears, in turn, are meshed with rack bars 16.

Mounted in appropriate stationary bearing 17 is a rock shaft 17 on which is a crank 18 for turning the shaft about its axis. Also fixed to the shaft 17 are cranks l9, and cranks 19*; the cranks 19 being connected by bars 20 to the rack bars ll, and the cranks 19 by bars 21 to the rack bars 16. 1 show the crank 18 of shaft 17 as connected by a rod 22 with a crank 23 on an upright shaft 24 which may be arranged in a stand (not shown) and may be turned in any approved manner about its axis. I do not desire, however, to be restricted to any specific means for turning the shaft 17.

Manifestly through the medium of the shafts 17 X and the connections described, the four disks 7 may be turned in concert, to position the grooves in the said disks in alinement with the rails 1 or the rails 2 according to which set of rails a car or train is traversing, the disks 7 in the joint bodies 1* being turned in an opposite direction to the disks 7 in the oint bodies 2 Notwithstanding the practical advantages of my novel crossing it will be apparent that the same is simple and inexpensive in con- I struction and embodies no delicate parts such as are likely to get out of order after a' short period of use.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear and exact understanding of the said embodiment. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the specific construction and relative arrangement of parts inasmuch as in the future practice of the invention various changes and modifications maybe made such as fall within the scope of my invention as defined in my appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A railroad crossing comprising spaced rail sections arranged in parallel series, other spaced rail sections arranged in parallel series and at right angles to the rails of the first-named series, joint bodies each hav ing sockets in its four edges receiving extensions of the bases and webs of four rail sections and each having its upper side flush with the treads of the rail sections and each having in its upper side a circular space and grooves atright angles to each-other and arranged at opposite sides of said circular space, disks arranged in said circular spaces of the joint bodies and each having a groove, and means connected withthe said disks for assuring movement of the disks about their axes in concert.

2. A railroad crossing comprising spaced rail sections arranged in parallel series, other spaced rail sections arranged in paral lel series and at right angles to the rails of the first-named series, the adjacent ends of the rail sections of the two series being formed by extended portions of the rail bases and webs, in combination with joint bodies having their upper sides flush with the treads of the rail sections and also having in their edges sockets receiving the said extensions of the bases and webs, said bodies being grooved at their upper sides, and

grooved disks mounted and adapted to be flush with the treads of the rail sections and also having grooves in their uppersides, and circular spaces in said sides between said grooves, grooved disks mounted in said spaces of the joint bodies and having spur gears, rock bars directly engaged with the spur gears of two of the disks, auxiliary spur gears carried by two of the bodies and meshed with the spur gears of the other disks, rack bars meshed with the auxiliary spur gears, all of the rack bars being guided in the joint bodies, and a shaft arranged between thepairs of rack bars and having cranks connected with said rack bars.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE W. SMITH. 

